Missed out on Clark County’s free tree program? More are coming

It only took 72 hours for a giveaway of water-efficient trees to Clark County residents to run out of all 4,500.

The program, called the All-In Clark County Community Canopy Project, was an effort to bring more shade to a region struggling to break free from the grips of a record summer that has killed 342 people so far.

The shade provided from trees is intended to mitigate the “urban heat island effect,” where high volumes of pavement trap heat during the day. Trapped heat in urban heat islands prevents cooling during the nighttime, as well.

“Thousands of Southern Nevada residents stepped up to go All-In Clark County with us and plant trees to mitigate extreme heat and help us combat the urban heat island effect,” the county’s environment and sustainability department wrote in a statement on Monday.

The community canopy initiative marked a key first step in the All-In Clark County climate change mitigation plan, which was adopted in 2021 with a goal of slashing the county’s carbon emissions to what’s considered “net zero” by 2050. Net zero refers to a state where the carbon dioxide the county is putting into the atmosphere would be offset by what’s taken out, thus not contributing to warming.

Because of overwhelming interest, the county has agreed to extend its program with more trees becoming available in the spring.

To be notified about when more are available, fill out the county’s form at arborday.org/clarkcountydes.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X. Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.